Xena''s POV


    "No, I think you''d consider it a trivial matter. An Alpha heir can easily ride a motorcycle down the highway at midnight without a second thought," I finally replied after a moment


    of silence.


    "Oh?" Ryder raised an eyebrow, those intense green eyes fixed on me.


    I ran my fingers along the cold metal of the wrench, feeling the weight of my thoughts.


    "Women always face more rules and restrictions... I have so many hopes and dreams, and even though I try to be a good person, will they evere true?" I gave a bitter smile, unable to meet his gaze.


    "What hopes and dreams do you have?" His voice dropped lower, the curiosity genuine.


    "Ask me again on Friday." I deliberately changed the subject, not ready to reveal those vulnerable parts of myself. "What are you nning to wear?"


    "ck suit, probably with a blue tie."


    I silently approved, imagining how striking he would look in a tailored ck suit, his light


    blonde hair a perfect contrast. "Good choice."


    "The instation isplete. Now I need to adjust the new suspension." I pulled out my notebook first, recording the initial data.


    "Weight?"


    "176."


    "Do you wantfort or sport tuning?"


    "What do you think?" Ryder chuckled softly, looking at me with that devastatingly charming smile.


    Damn that charm, I cursed internally.


    "Preload adjustment first," I murmured to myself, my custom C-wrench fitting perfectly


    into the adjustment slot at the top of the shock absorber. I had Ryder sit on the bike to measure the ride sag-54 millimeters, about 35% of the total travel, slightly on the soft


    side.


    "Two more turns tighter.'' I rotated the adjuster clockwise, each click distinct and clear,


    like a mechanical heartbeat. "Ryder?"


    "Hmm...?"


    "Why were you sulking this morning?" I gathered my courage to ask, my hand pausing momentarily on the tool.


    "I spent the night with you, then saw your legs wrapped around another man''s head. How do you think I felt?" His voice carried unmistakable jealousy.


    My heart raced, but I pretended indifference. "So you don''t regretst night?"


    Ryder looked at me, his gaze unwavering. "Stop questioning that. I will never regret the


    time we spent together." Irritation shed in his eyes that I would even ask such a


    question.


    "Okay," I responded quietly, returning to my work.


    Without warning, Ryder ced his hand on my thigh, his thumb gently rubbing the inside. I felt a current run through my entire body but fought to maintain myposure.


    "I didn''t realize you were so sensitive," he said softly.


    "I''m not sensitive," I replied, slightly annoyed.


    "You are. You''re just good at hiding it."


    "If I hide it so well, how would you know?"


    "The vulnerability you showedst night, plus the details that slip through when you speak-these aren''t things you easily reveal. The truth is, you can''t even tell Ama you love


    her."


    He''d hit a nerve, and I could only deflect. "Yeah... well... you came in your shorts." What a weak, childisheback.


    "There''s a first time for everything," Ryder sighed.


    "When did you leave my bed for your own?" I changed the subject.


    "Around 4:50 AM. I wanted to go for a run, and I''d just gotten back when I heard the cheering outside."


    "Ah."


    "How did you sleep?" he asked.


    "Exceptionally well. Best night''s sleep I''ve ever had."


    "You''re wee," Ryder murmured.


    I teased him deliberately: "Must have been the mattress."


    A low groam escaped from deep within him. "Is that so?"


    "Seems you''ll have to try harder next time." A mischievous smile yed on my lips as I


    met Ryder''s gaze.


    His hand moved to my inner thigh, his fingers slipping inside my underwear. At the sam time, his other hand adjusted my chair, pulling me closer to him for better ess. All he


    could do was tease my sensitive spot.


    "Continue your work," Ryder pressed down gently,, making me shiver involuntarily.


    Following his request, I tried to focus, but it was nearly impossible. His fingers moved fa then slow, making my breathingbored. Completing the next adjustment took over two hours, twice the usual time, because whenever I approached dimax, he skillfully slowed his pace, eliciting soft whimpers from me.


    "Okay, it''s all done," I said in a trembling voice..


    Just then, Ryder''s phone rang. He answered with one hand, keeping his other arm around my waist. "Hello?" I tried to wriggle free, butt Ryder refused to let go. "She''s finishing the modifications on my motorcycle. We''ll be there soon." He hung up.


    "I''m finished," I repeated, my heartbeat stilll ematic.. "Don''t you want to test it?" I manage


    to say.


    "Let''s go," Ryder stood up without removing his hand. Somehow, he switched hands, the other one moving into my shorts. He stood up, bringing me with him, and waited us toward the mirron. When my legs weakened, he supported me against him. Ryden positioned my legs while three fingers slid inside me, as I stood there, craving his troudi


    "Oh!" I couldn''t help crying out when he found that spot, his hand squeezing my breast could feel him hard work against my back.


    Chapter CamUMENT


    LIKE


    Xena''s POV


    The air in my motorcycle shop was thick with the scent of oil and steel. The dim light cast


    shadows across his chiseled jaw, and those piercing eyes of his locked onto mine, daring me to make a move. A spark ignited deep in my chest, wild and reckless, and I couldn''t shake the words echoing in my head: If you can y, so can I.


    I stepped closer, my boots scuffing against the concrete floor, and before I could overthink


    it, my hand darted out. My fingers slipped beneath the waistband of his shorts, brushing against the heat of his skin. I wrapped my hand around him, stroking slowly, deliberately, feeling him harden under my touch. My heart mmed against my ribcage like a drum, each beat urging me on. This was a risk, a challenge-he''d pushed me before, and now it was my turn to push back. "Xena," Ryder growled, his voice low and rough, a warningced with heat. "You''re ying with fire."


    I tilted my chin up, meeting his gaze with a defiant smirk. "Good thing I''m ready to burn."


    For a heartbeat, we stood there, the tension crackling between us like a live wire. Then, with a sound that was half-growl, half-snarl, Ryder yanked my hand away. Before I could catch my breath, his hands were on me, tugging my shorts down in one swift motion until they pooled at my ankles. My mind nked, a rush of shock and raw need flooding through me. My skin prickled as the cool air hit me, but the heat in his eyes burned hotter than anything I''d ever felt.


    I barely registered what was happening before he stripped off my shirt and bra, leaving me bare in front of him. My breath hitched, my chest heaving as embarrassment warred with desire. Then he lifted me, strong arms hoisting me onto the counter. Papers, tools, even the old rotary phone ttered to the floor as he cleared the space with a sweep of his arm. He parted my legs, spreading them wide, and my eyes widened as I realized how exposed I was-how much I wanted


    this.


    "Watch me," hemanded, his voice a dark rumble that vibrated through me. "Watch what I do to you."


    My gaze locked onto his hands, those rough, capable fingers that knew exactly where to


    touch. They moved over me with a precision that stole my breath, teasing, stroking, igniting every nerve in my body. I gripped the edge of his shorts, my nails digging in a fought to amuthor myself against the tidal wave of sensation. My heart was a runaway train, pmuntiing so hard I thought it might burst. Shame flickered at the caliges of my mind, but it was swallowed whole by the pleasure crashing through me.


    "Oh-oh-oh!" The sounds tore from my throat, desperate and brotem, as I teetered on the entire of release. But just as I was about to fall, Ryder pulled his hand back, leaving dangling in agonizing emptiness.


    I meaty sobbed, my body trembling with unmet need. "What the hell?" II gasped, my fa flushing hot as I red at him.


    Fle smirked, that infuriating, sexy smirk that made me want to p him and kiss him a at once. "What''s that, huh?"


    "Please," I begged, the word spilling out before I could stop it. Pride be damned-l


    nee


    him to finish what he''d started.


    Ryder didn''t hesitate. He flipped me over, my stomach pressing against the cold counte as he buried his face between my thighs. My hips joitten, a cry escaping me as his mout took over, hot and relentless. I rode the waves off his tongue, one hand fisting in his ha to keep him there, the other wing at the counter. Thought melted away, drowned by the flood of ecstasy building inside me. My nuilts suraped against him, my voice reduced shattered moans. Don''t stop, don''t stop,, I screamed in my head, but all that came out w "Oh, Ryder, please!"


    His fingers joined in, pressing and circling as he sucked harder, and finally- finally-he me go. The release hit me like a storm, shattering me into a million pieces. I felt weightless, floating, my body trembling as the aftershocks rippled through me. Ryder shuddered too, his breath ragged against my skin as he pulled back, leaving me sprawle across the counter, legs syed,piterally umiione.


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